It was a dark and dreary morning for Serena. She never wanted this day to come. She wished it never happened, but it did. Today was the day that she had to face her parent's funeral. They died from a sudden fire at work. Many died from that fire, and her parents had no choice but to jump from the building. Unfortunately, they didn't make it through. Serena had no one to comfort her anymore.

She got ready for school as usual for any other day, but today something might happen. It could be good or it will become worse than before. She slipped on a pink long sleeve blouse under her warm jacket. She put on a pair of dark blue jean pants, and put her hair in her normal odango style. Serena didn't feel like eating this morning. So the young girl grabbed her backpack, and left the house to catch the bus.

She noticed that the bus was already picking up the kids, "Wait for me!"

Serena ran for her life to catch the bus, but it left without her. It wasn't the first time that Serena missed the bus, but this time she has no ride to get her to school. She sighed in disappointment, and walked to school. She wished that her parents were still here. Everything could go back to normal.

"Can my life get any worse?" she called out to the sky, and it started to rain, "Spoke too soon."

She began to walk again towards her destination. It didn't matter if she was late or not Serena knew it was going to be a bad day. In a matter of minutes she was soaked to the bone, and her clothes started too clung onto her. The young girl tried to keep herself warm and getting to her school on time.

Serena eventually got to the school with only minutes to spare to get to her class. She walked to her locker, put her backpack in her locker, and grabbed out her books for the classes. She heard the 5 minute bell, and she knew that she had to get to class fast. She almost practically ran to get to the other side of campus. Then she accidentally bumped into someone.

She grabbed her books from the floor, "I'm sorry."

"It's my fault," she heard an unfamiliar male voice.

"No, it's mine. I didn't see where I was going."

"I've never seen you before. Are you new?" he helped her up to her feet.

"No, I've been attending her all semester. How come I've never seen you around?"

"I've been always on the go. The name's Darien."

"My name is Serena," then she heard the one minute bell, "Oh; it was nice to meet you. Hope to see you again, Darien. I'm going to be so late!"

He watched her run to her first class. Darien walked to his first class for the day. For some reason he couldn't get her face out of his mind all period. Serena came in the appropriate classroom. She took heavy breaths from all the running she did today.

"Miss Tsukino, you're late again," Mrs. Haruna said with anger.

"I'm sorry, Haruna-sensei. It won't happen again," Serena responded.

"It better not," Serena went to her desk, "Now, class turn you books to page 96. Today we are going to start on poems, and we will work on it for the next two weeks to make sure everyone understands it well."

The only thing that Serena liked about Mrs. Haruna's class is when they start with poems every year. It's the only way people can express themselves with words in forms of rhyming. Serena knows that not all poems have to rhyme, but if they get through the meaning of the poem that's all it counts.

Mrs. Haruna gave the students a half hour to think of a poem about anything. She explained that there were limitations on that topic; she told them that she didn't want a poem about sex or any drugs and crap like that. Serena already knew what she was going to write down. So she wrote down as she thought in her mind, and finished her poem quickly.

"Time to put your pencils down, and raise your hands to tell your poem out to the class," Mrs. Haruna said.

Several students said their poems, and some of them were actually funny. The class laughed at some of their jokes from their poems, and sometimes they didn't get it. Serena decided to drift to dream land to think about anything that comes up in her mind. She could think about anything, and no one would ever know about it.

"Miss Tsukino!" Serena jumped back to reality, "Since you seem so interested with this. Read your poem out to the class."

Serena got up from her desk and walked to the front of the classroom. She stared at the students who were laughing, and not paying attention to their speaker. Serena started her poem.

Pain, misery, anxiety

I've felt through so many

This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life

But it's not

Laying on the cold hard ground

No one to comfort me

I feel no warmth

Only just bitterness

I have nothing but a memory

Only a memory

Of what it was like in my past

What most I feel is

Emptiness

I feel that there is a hole in my heart

And there's nothing to fill it

I guess this is how it's supposed to be empty

Empty

The class was shocked on her poem. They never knew that she could write a poem like that. It wasn't like her to do that. Mrs. Haruna took up the poems, and Serena went back to her seat to grab her stuff for her next class. She walked out through the swarm of other students getting to their next class as well.

She stopped at her locker once more before heading to class. She put her books in her locker, and headed towards the auditorium. Then she had a detour on the way there. An 11th grader pushed her to the side, and made her fall to the ground. Everyone around her laughed as they walked by.

"It's our favorite freaky hair style girl, Serena Tsukino," one of his lackeys said.

"Seiya, can you tell your friend that I'm not in the mood right now?" Serena asked while picking up her books.

"Sorry, I can't do that. Not until you say please," Seiya said.

Serena was about to say something until she was interupted, "Back off Seiya. She didn't do anything to you."

It was Darien, "You're the guy from before."

"Daz-man, we were only joking around with her," Seiya said to him.

"Doesn't look like it to me. Get out of here," the two men glared at each other as Seiya left the scene.

"Thanks again," Serena said getting back to her feet.

"No problem. I'll walk you to class just incase Seiya and his group comes back to pick on you."

"You don't have to do that," she blush a little.

"I have to anyway my locker is this way. Where is your next class?" Darien asked.

"Musical theater," Serena replied.

"Me too, and how come I never see you there?"

"I mainly stay near the shadows mostly. I'm usually not the social type. I don't know why I even picked the course? I can't sing that well," the two stopped at his locker.

"I can't be that bad," he closed his locker door.

They sat together while Mr. Jenkins was taking attendance. The students talked as usual before the teacher softens them down. He lectured on the history on how the theater came to be as it is today. Serena took every note as she could. The class eventually walked over to the auditorium, and awaited orders from the teacher on what to do.

"Quiet," in an operatic voice, "I need a guy and a girl to act out this scene from the 1957 Cinderella by Rodgers & Hammerstein. Mister Shields, I need you, and bring a young lady of your choice to come to the stage."

He grabbed Serena's arm, "Darien, what are you doing?"

"You're the lucky girl that I choose. Besides I want to see what you are capable on your acting skills."

"There not that good," she was dragged to the staged.

"Now in this part of the act the prince led Cinderella out into the royal gardens. You two had just sung Ten Minutes Ago. Darien, you pick up on the line right after the song," Mr. Jenkins got of the stage, "Action!"

"Servants I've got," Darien says "What I need is someone I can really talk to. You know what I wish? I wish..."

"You know the trouble with most people?" Serena interjects "It's that they sit at home wishing for something to happen, instead of just doing something about it."

"You're right" he agrees "May I ask you a question?" he asks.

"Of course" she replies

"Do you think it's possible to meet someone and know in an instant that she's the one?" he asks

"It's very possible" she answers

"I feel so strange." he says "Like I'm not myself. But maybe with you I really am myself... not the self that people expect me to be but the real self that I..." he laughs

"I'm not making any sense am I?" he asks

"Actually you're making perfect sense" she admits "That's what's so scary".

"Scary... and confusing... and wonderful, all at the same time!" he says.

Do I love you?

Because you're beautiful?

Or are you beautiful

Because I love you?

Am I making believe I see in you?

A girl too lovely

To be really true?

Do I want you?

Because you are wonderful?

Or are you wonderful

Because I want you?

Are you the sweet expression of a lover's dream?

Or are you really as wonderful as you seem?

"Maybe you're imagining me. Maybe I'm imagining you too," Serena said about to sing, but she was interrupted.

"Serena Tsukino, please report to the office immediately," she heard over the loud speaker.

Serena was disappointed that she didn't get to sing in front of Darien and the class. She saw the sadness in Darien's face. He was about to hear something come out of her voice, but he was torn apart from the dreaded loud speaker. She grabbed her stuff, and headed to the office as she was told to. Several students whispered some comments to one another of what Serena might have done to go to the office.